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The leadership of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) endorsed the turnaround strategy of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) when it met with the administrator, Bongisizwe Mpondo, on Friday.

However, SATAWU was emphatic Mpondo had to take the role of stakeholders seriously and consult unions on critical matters particularly with regard to modernisation and new operating model as Prasa moved from old to new trains. In fact, SATAWU proposed labour have representatives at board and executive level to safeguard the interest of workers as the rail agency modernised. Central to this call is SATAWU’s wish see that no job losses result from modernisation and new operating model.

Given Mpondo only has 12 months to turn Prasa around, SATAWU’s leadership urged him to avoid restarting processes that were already in progress under the interim board. This stance relates to instances such as the corporate strategy formulated by the interim board that identified issues to be dealt with including the leadership crisis within Prasa; the need to stabilise the organisation and accelerate the modernisation project. SATAWU also noted Mpondo’s intention to enter into new security contracts but strongly urged him to continue using companies that previously had legitimate contracts with Prasa as they were familiar with what is required to secure the rail agency’s infrastructure and operations. SATAWU’s goal in this regard is to retain the jobs of the individual security guards who have been posted at Prasa for years.

SATAWU also called for special focus on the Western Cape as service in the region had all but collapsed, with the Central Line closed for several months and regional management not showing any willingness to act.

The union’s leadership agreed with the administrator that Shosholoza Meyl needs to be revitalised and rolling stock must be attended to as Metrorail is currently running only 90 trains and Shosholoza Meyl just 23.    

In addition to the proposed divisionalisation of Prasa subsidiary and bus operator Autopax, SATAWU called for an investigation into what led to its decline so as to prevent a recurrence and ensure those responsible are brought to book. The situation at Autopax has deteriorated to such an extent Prasa has assisted it to pay salaries since early 2019.

Following on the concern raised about stakeholder consultation, SATAWU will meet with Mr Mpondo again in February and every other month after that.   

Issued by SATAWU